Monday 4th January 2018 – It was an excited and slightly anxious Maddie Hudson as she bathed and braided her two ex racehorses, Sonny (whom never made it to the races) and Royal (Glonass, previously trained by Gold Coast trainer, Michael Costa) in preparation for the notorious beach gallop at the Magic Millions barrier draw the following day.

“My friend Holly, who organises the ponies for the races, asked me if I’d like my two boys to take part in the event. They’re both quiet and well behaved so I thought I’d give it a shot. Neither of them disappointed, they didn’t put a foot wrong all day!” said Maddie.

At 3.10am sharp the next day, Maddie, along with her two immaculate looking ponies, were picked up from their paddock and driven to the Surfers Paradise Foreshore where the event would take place.

“We got there around 4.30am so the horses could all have a look around the beach. There were 15 horses all up, 12 of which were ex racehorses.” explained Maddie.

Royal (Glonass) and Noel Callow greeting the crowd

The first beach gallop kicked off at 6.15am, shortly followed by a Magic Millions Q&A and then the Queens Baton Relay at 7.15am.

The morning came to a close at around 9am and the smiles on everyone’s faces summed it up. A great event that’s looked forward to every year by all involved, after getting a little more involved this year we are certainly looking forward to the rest of the carnival!

With thanks to Maddie Hudson for all the behind the scenes info and to Ashlea Brennan for allowing us to use her photos.